Pick up your Phone
by DowagerMcGonagall
Summary: The team thinks May is dead after a building explosion. She's not of course but they don't know that because they refuse to look at their phones.


I own nothing. This is set sometime post season 1.

* * *

May was considered M.I.A. on Monday. On Tuesday they found a charred female body in the building that she was last seen in. It was Wednesday night when Simmons could not say for certain that the body was May's due to the DNA match being inconclusive. On Thursday they went back to the building in hopes of finding more concrete evidence but were unsuccessful. The team was losing hope and threw themselves into their work and never once picked up their phones or checked their voicemail. Which would have saved May the hassle considering she is trying to contact them and tell them that she is alive. But more importantly she just wants a ride back to the base: public transportation and her do not mix.

* * *

On Monday, May and a small team went to a recently abandoned Hydra building in the middle of no where in order to see if anything useful was left behind. Let's just say that all they found was an empty building, some files and old office supplies that were left behind. Once in the building, May left to go check the other floors when she heard the announcement over the comms:

"Agent May, we've found a bomb that was most likely triggered by a silent alarm. It is set to go off in the next forty-five seconds. There's enough C-4 to take out three of these buildings." says Tripp who was on the ground floor

"Get everyone on the quinjet and head back to the base. I don't want anyone near here just in case Hydra sends in a team." orders May

"What about you?"

"I'm too far up to make it down in time. I'll have to fine another way out. If not tell the Director not to name anything after me."

No idea how she managed it but May made it out of the building just in time to watch it blow but not in enough time to make it to the quinjet. She reached for her phone to call Coulson and tell her she needs a ride but found that it was crushed along with her comm when she fell out of the building.

"Great. Just great." she says to herself as she walks off in a direction that hopefully had people with some sort of phone that she could use.

* * *

May found a small town about an hour and a half later. She found a phone in a bed and breakfast but it was disconnected for the day and would be working tomorrow. She considered walking back to the building just in case the team came back to look for her but she was too tired and hoped that they might find the town like she did.

Always prepared for any emergency May paid in cash, booked a room with the bed and breakfast, and fell asleep for the night. After breakfast, she hovered by the phone in hopes that it would get fixed faster.

It didn't.

"What's your rush?" asks the maintenance guy

"Just need to make a call." replies May now annoyed that the man has stopped fixing the phone and started up a conversation with her.

"Why, is it an important?"

"You could say that. Is there another town near here?"

"Depends. You can go over to the train station and buy yourself a ticket."

"There's a train station here?"

"Yeah. Where are you from? Didn't you arrive here on the train? That's the only way to get here."

"Guess I forgot."

"If you say so. Well the phone should be working now. Have a nice day." says the maintenance guy

"Thanks."

Once the maintenance guy leaves, May dials Coulson's number but gets a busy signal so she decides to call Skye. It's disconnected. She dials the rest of the team and all she gets is either a busy signal or the phone itself has been disconnected.

"Why is no one answering?" she yells into phone and precedes to dial another number knowing that she will at least get an answering machine.

"Mom its me. I'm not dead. If Coulson calls let him know that at least. I'm going to try to catch a train and work my way back over to the base. Once I get to a real town I'll buy a phone and call you back."

"Why would your Mom think you're dead?" asks a little boy once May turns around after she hangs up the phone

"There was an...accident." replies May inching towards the door trying to escape the little boy's questioning.

"What kind of accident?"

"I'll give you ten bucks to forget everything you just heard." she says holding out the money to the boy

"Deal." he replies and takes the money before walking away from May

May makes it to the East coast by Thursday morning. She doesn't know how many messages she has left her mother and the team throughout her trip but all she knows is that no one is calling her back. She does know that she's rode enough buses and trains that will last her a lifetime.

She has about an eight hour drive to the Playground but she doesn't have enough money to rent a car so she decides to do what anyone would do in that situation:

Steal a car.

From a gang.

May doesn't feel comfortable with stealing a car from innocent civilians.

It goes off without a hitch and May even finds some money in the glove compartment which was good because she's hungry.

* * *

It's nighttime when she arrives at the base. No one is there to greet her. Why should anyone be there? Its not like she called them and even if she did its not like they would pick up their phones.

Once inside, she walks through the hallways and people stop and stare at her like they just saw a ghost.

All true considering she's supposed to be dead.

May walks past the lab and sees FitzSimmons and Skye talking. She knocks on the door and waves before leaving them in shock.

The three of them glance at each other and confirm that what they saw was not a collective hallucination.

May was alive and they're running after her with tears in their eyes. They bump into Bobbi, Mack, and Hunter who came to tell them that May just walked past them on her way to Coulson's office and just waved hello like it was a normal day.

Even though May doesn't wave hello to anyone.

He's in his office when his phone rings. That's the second time its done that today. He disconnected it on Tuesday night, wanting to sit in silence after learning that his best friend may be dead. He couldn't bear hearing it ring day in and out. Didn't even bother to check the messages once he reconnected it. He picks it up on the third ring:

"What!" he yells into the phone

"Don't you dare take that tone with me Phil. I've been calling you since Tuesday. If anyone should be angry its me and trust me I am very angry. Why haven't you been answering your phone or at least checked your voicemail."

"May?" he questions not wanting to hope that its really her

"Yes. Who else would it be? Didn't you talk to my mother?"

"I haven't been able to get a hold of her. My contacts say that she's out of the country."

"Of course she is."

"Where are you? I'll come get you." he says standing up from his desk

"No need I'm already here. Outside your office. About to be bombarded by the team." she says and Coulson hears multiple voices asking her how's she's not dead.

"Glad your not dead May." he says once he opens his office door and sees May sandwiched in a hug between Skye and Simmons who wants to check her vitals.

"Me too. But really next time pick up your phones and call me back. I refuse to ride on public transportation again."

"I promise. Looks like I'll have to cancel the memorial service."

"Memorial service?"

"I know you didn't want anything but you deserved something."

"What I deserve is a bath, a change of clothes, and some food."

"After I make sure you're alright. There's no way you should have survived that fall." says Simmons leading May and the others towards the lab

"You should at least have some broken bones." says Skye now poking May to see if anything is broken

"Will you stop that! It takes a lot more than a building exploding to break some of my bones." replies May as she tries to avoid Skye's prodding.

"Ain't that the truth. I knew you weren't dead. You gotta be one of the hardest people to kill in the world." says Tripp walking up to the group having just heard the news.

"Thanks for the compliment. I think."

"Wait. If you're here, then whose body is in the lab?" asks Coulson

"Let' just say the building wasn't as empty as we thought."

* * *

Thanks for reading. My second phone themed story. I'm sensing a pattern. If I can think of a third one I'll post one. I'm open to suggestions.


End file.
